Bensler LLC Acquires 1,977 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Bensler LLC boosted its Meta Platforms stake by 14.7% in the fourth quarter, buying 1,977 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 15,386 shares worth about $10.16 million.
• Meta remains heavily owned by institutions, with hedge funds and other institutional investors holding 79.91% of the stock, while several insiders have recently sold shares, including COO Javier Olivan and CFO Susan J. Li.
• The company recently delivered strong quarterly results, posting earnings of $10.44 per share versus estimates of $6.67 and revenue of $56.31 billion, up 33.1% year over year, even as investors watch for margin pressure from its AI-focused restructuring efforts.

Bensler LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 14.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,386 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 1,977 shares during the period. Bensler LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $10,156,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westchester Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Key Capital Management INC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $48,000. Fairway Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 36.8% during the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 78 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merrithew & Thorsten Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $52,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $629.45, for a total transaction of $1,748,612.10. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 10,557 shares in the company, valued at $6,645,103.65. This represents a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total transaction of $36,471,323.70. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 171,517 shares of company stock worth $109,138,067. Insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $602.61 on Wednesday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $620.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $637.91. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.52 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $520.26 and a twelve month high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. The company had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.43 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $775.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Roth Mkm reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $840.31.

Key Meta Platforms News

Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Meta began laying off about 8,000 employees, or roughly 10% of its workforce, as part of a broader AI-first transformation. The move highlights rising restructuring costs and suggests more cuts could follow later this year. Meta Begins Laying Off 8,000 Employees Amid A.I. Transformation
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Meta is cutting jobs while ramping up AI investment have kept attention on margin pressure and the scale of the company’s AI spending bill, which some investors view as a near-term drag on earnings. Meta Moves 7,000 Workers Into AI Roles Ahead of Job Cuts
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta offered rival AI chatbot makers limited free access to WhatsApp in Europe before charging once usage limits are reached. The move could support platform engagement and developer adoption, but the financial impact is still unclear. Exclusive: Meta offers AI rival chatbots limited free WhatsApp access, sources say
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta also drew attention for new AI-related product and safety initiatives, including an incognito chat feature for WhatsApp’s AI assistant and new parental supervision tools, but these are not likely to move the stock in the near term. Meta Platforms (META) Launching Incognito Chat for WhatsApp AI Assistant

About Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc NASDAQ: META, formerly Facebook, Inc, is a global technology company best known for building social networking services and immersive computing platforms. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the company operates a family of consumer-facing products and services that connect users, creators and businesses. In October 2021 the company rebranded as Meta to reflect an expanded strategic focus on augmented and virtual reality technologies alongside its social media businesses.

Meta's core consumer products include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and community building across mobile and desktop devices.

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